Nearly one in five struggle to afford their homes
A new study from an Ottawa-based economic think-tank suggests that about 20 per cent of Canadians are struggling to afford the homes they’re living in and that national productivity is suffering as a result.
The Conference Board of Canada says three-quarters of Canadians are living in homes they can afford, while about five per cent live in housing subsidized by the government. That leaves about 20 per cent of people who are struggling to cope with the cost of their homes.
The Conference Board says this group often sacrifices key expenses, such as nutritious food, in order to keep up. The board says such decisions adversely affects the health of Canadians and lowers national productivity. The Conference Board defines housing as unaffordable if it consumes more than 30 per cent of a family’s pre-tax income.
